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Michael Hartnett
Michael Hartnett (Mícheál Ó hAirtnéide) (18 September 1941 - 13 October 1999) was an Irish poet who wrote in both English and Irish. One of the most significant voices in late 20th- century Irish writing,h has been called "Munster's de facto poet laureate". Life Youth and background Hartnett was born in Croom Hospital, County LimerickHartnett liked to cite his birth in Croom hospital, as Croom was an area connected with the ancient Gaelic poets. Although his parents' name was Harnett, he was registered in error as Hartnett on his birth certificate. In later life he declined to change this as his legal name was closer to the Irish Ó hAirtnéide. He grew up in the town of Newcastle West, also in County Limerick, spending much of his time with his grandmother in the countryside nearby. Hartnett claimed that his grandmother, Bridget Halpin, was one of the last native speakers to live in Co. Limerick, though she was originally from North County Kerry. He claims that, although she spoke to him mainly in English, he would listen to her conversing with her friends in Irish, and as such, he was quite unaware of the imbalances between English and Irish, since he experienced the free interchange of both languages. He was educated in the local national and secondary schools in Newcastle West. When he began school, he claims that he was made aware of the tensions between both languages, and was surprised to discover that Irish as a language was endangered, but was also, to him, taught as a contrived, rule-laden entity, with little or none of the attraction that it held for him at home. Hartnett emigrated to England the day after he finished his secondary education and went to work as a tea boy on a building site in London. Early writings Hartnett had started writing by this time and his work came to the attention of the poet John Jordan, who was professor of English at University College Dublin. Jordan invited Hartnett to attend the university for a year. While back in Dublin, he co-edited the literary magazine Arena with James Liddy. He also worked as curator of Joyce's tower at Sandycove for a time. He returned briefly to London, where he met Rosemary Grantley on 16 May 1965, and they were married on 4 April 1966. His first book, Anatomy of a Cliché, was published by Poetry Ireland in 1968 to critical acclaim and he returned permanently to Ireland that same year. In Dublin, he worked as a night telephonist at the telephone exchange on Exchequer Street. He now entered a productive relationship with New Writers Press, run by Michael Smith and Trevor Joyce. They published his next three books. The first of these was a translation from the Irish, The Old Hag of Beare (1969), followed by Selected Poems (1970) and Tao (1972). This last book was a version of the Chinese Tao Te Ching. His Gypsy Ballads, a version of the Romancero Gitano of Federico Garcia Lorca (1973) was published by the Goldsmith Press. Farewell to English In 1974 Hartnett decided to leave Dublin to return to his rural roots and his relationship with the Irish language. He went to live in Templeglantine, just five miles from Newcastle West and worked for a time as a lecturer in creative writing at Thomond College of Education, Limerick. In his 1975 book A Farewell to English he declared his intention to write only in Irish in the future, describing English as 'the perfect language to sell pigs in'. A number of volumes in Irish followed: Adharca Broic (1978), An Phurgóid (1983) and Do Nuala: Foighne Chrainn (1984). Later life and works Hartnett had started drinking heavily and his alcoholism contributed to end of his marriage. In 1984 he returned to Dublin to live in the suburb of Inchicore. The following year marked his return to English with the publication of Inchicore Haiku, a book that deals with the turbulent events in his personal life over the previous few years. This was followed by a number of books in English including A Necklace of Wrens (1987), Poems to Younger Women (1989) and The Killing of Dreams (1992). He also continued working in Irish, and produced a sequence of important volumes of translation of classic works into English. These included Ó Bruadair, Selected Poems of Dáibhí Ó Bruadair (1985) and Ó Rathaille The Poems of Aodhaghán Ó Rathaille (1999). His Collected Poems appeared in two volumes in 1984 and 1987 and New and Selected Poems in 1995. Hartnett died from Alcoholic Liver Syndrome. A new Collected Poems appeared in 2001. Writing Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney called Hartnett "one of the truest, most tested and most beloved voices in twentieth-century Irish poetry."Michael Coady, Michael Hartnett (1941-1999), Eigse Michael Hartnett. Web, Sep. 13, 2014. Recognition Hartnett won the American Ireland Literary Fund Award three times (in 1975, 1980, and 1990), and the Irish American Cultural Institute Award in 1988.Michael Hartnett 1941-1999, Poetry Foundation, Web, Sep. 30, 2012. He also won the Irish Poetry Prize and the Poetry Ireland Choice award, and was a member of Aosdana.Michael-Hartnett.com, Web. Sep. 13, 2014. Eigse Michael Hartnett Every April a literary and arts festival is held in Newcastle West in honour of Michael Hartnett. Events are organised throughout the town and a memorial lecture is given by a distinguished guest. Former speakers include Nuala O'Faolain, Paul Durcan, David Whyte and Fintan O'Toole.http://www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie/michael-hartnett-memorial-lectures.html The annual Michael Hartnett Poetry Award of 6500 euro also forms part of the festival. Funded by the Limerick County Arts Office and the Arts Council of Ireland, it is intended to support and encourage poets in the furtherance of their writing endeavours. Previous winners include Sinead Morrissey and Peter Sirr.http://www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie/eigse-michael-hartnett-poetry-awards.html During the Eigse 2011, Paul Durcan unveiled a bronze life-sized statue of Hartnett sculpted by Rory Breslin, in the Town Square of Newcastle West.http://www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie/eigse-events-saturday.html. Publications Poetry * Anatomy of a Cliché. Dublin: Dolmen Press, 1968. * A Farewell to English, and other poems. Dublin: Gallery Books, 1975 **expanded as A Farewell to English. Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland: Gallery Press, 1978. *''The Retreat of Ita Cagney / Cúlú íde''. The Curragh, Ireland: Goldsmith Press, 1975. *''Prisoners''. Old Deerfield, MA: Deerfield Press, 1977. *''Poems in English''. Dublin: Dolmen Press, 1977. * Adharca Broic (Irish language). Dublin: Raven Arts Press, 1978. * An Phurgóid (Irish language). Dublin: Coiscéim, 1982 **published in English as The Purge (translated by Gabriel Fitzmaurice). Dublin: Beaver Row Press, 1989. *''Collected Poems''. (2 volumes), Dublin: Raven Arts Press / Manchester, UK: Carcanet Press, 1984. * Do Nuala: Foighne Chrainn (Irish language). Dublin: Coiscéim, 1984. * Inchicore Haiku. Dublin: Raven Arts Press, 1985. * A Necklace of Wrens: Selected poems in Irish, with English translations by the author. Dublin: Gallery Press, 1987. *''Selected Poems / Rogha danta''. Dublin: Raven Arts Press, 1988. * Poems to a Younger Woman. Dublin: Gallery Press, 1988. * The Killing of Dreams. Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland: Gallery Press, 1992. * Selected and New Poems (edited by Peter Fallon). Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland: Gallery Press, 1994; Winston-Salem, NC: Wake Forest University Press, 1994. * Collected Poems (edited by Peter Fallon). (2 volumes), Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland: Gallery Press, 2001. *''A Book of Strays'' (edited by Peter Fallon). Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland: Gallery Press, 2002. Translated *''Gipsy Ballads: A version of the 'Romancero gitano' (1924-27) of Federico Garcia Lorca''. Castleknock, Ireland: Goldsmith Press, 1973. *''Translations'' (edited by Peter Fallon). Oldcastle, Meath, Ireland: Gallery Press, 2003. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Michael Hartnett, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 13, 2014. See also * List of Irish poets References * Remembering Michael Hartnett Edited by Stephen Newman and John McDonagh; (November 2005); Four Courts Press; ISBN 978-185182-944-6 * ‘Wrestling with Hartnett’, by Eamon Grennan; in''The Southern Review'', Vol. 31, no. 3; (June 1995); p. 659 * Lawlor, James. “Are these my people?’ A Study of Contemporary Working-Class Irish Poetry M.A Diss. Queen’s University Belfast. 2010. Print. * ‘Male and Heretic: Michael Hartnett and Masculine Doubt’, by Val Nolan; lecture delivered to Southern Voices: A Symposium on Contemporary Munster Poetry in English; University College Cork; (May 2008) * Notes From His Contemporaries: A Tribute to Michael Hartnett. Photographs by Niall Hartnett; (May 2009/ March 2010); Niall Hartnett.com/ Lulu Inc. (Purchase Book at Niallhartnett.com) Notes External links ;Poems *Michael Hartnett at Irish Culture and Customs (profile & 4 poems) * Michael Hartnett 1941-1999 at the Poetry Foundation *Inchicore Haiku by Michael Hartnett * Selection of poems by Hartnett ;Audio / video *Michael Hartnett at YouTube ;About *Michael Hartnett in the Oxford Companion to Irish Literature *Hartnett, Michael at Irish Writers Online *[ *Michael Hartnett at Ricorso.net *Michael Hartnett at Wake Forest University Press * Michael Hartnett Official website. *"Inchicore Haiku: 25 years after" by Mark Lonergan (scroll down) ;Etc. *Eigse Michael Hartnett literary festival website Category:1941 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Irish poets Category:Gaelic poets Category:Irish Gaelic poets Category:People from County Limerick Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Translators to English